RLA Pastor's blog

On Friday, September 19, Apple launched the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. Eager customers stood in line for hours waiting to buy the new product. Apple announced that in just three days over ten-million new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus models were sold. Many were sold to Apple customers who had older and yet perfectly good iPhones. What they were after was the latest in Apple technology.

I have found that many commodities in life have a very limited shelf life. They get old fast. It may be reading a specific author, or listening to a particular musical group, or watching a certain television program, or eating at a favorite restaurant, or pulling out your old iPhone. After a while we tend to lose interest and are ready for a change.When it comes to many things in life, a little bit goes a long way. Eventually, the new wears off. The excitement fades. The things that once brought satisfaction just don’t cut it anymore. So we change our wardrobe. We buy a new electronic gadget. We look for a new hobby. We might even pursue a career change. So goes life. Out with the old and in with the new.

With that fact of human nature understood, what amazes me is that the Bible never gets old. Not many books can stand a second reading. But the Bible can be read and reread countless times, and still we have only scratched the surface! The Bible is one of the most ancient of books, and yet the most modern. It’s always relevant in any culture in any period of time.

We reason that the people who wrote the various books of the Bible must have been truly gifted authors. No doubt, they were. But that does not explain the durability of the Bible, or its ability to speak to all people of all generations. The only explanation is that the Bible is divine. As Paul told Timothy, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable…” (2 Timothy 3:16). The Bible never gets old because it is the very Word of God. So read it faithfully and read it often. Other things may come and go in your life, but the Bible should have a place of continued prominence. So give it that place and be a lover of the Word for life.

It should come as no surprise when the world levels criticism on the Church of Jesus Christ. As a matter of fact, it is to be expected. But when Christians join in the dogpile you know the devil is up to his old tricks.In all of my years of Bible reading I have never come across that elusive passage that speaks of the spiritual gift of criticism. Yet it seems many Christians operate in this unique area of gifting. And for many, the target of choice is the Church.Why some believers choose to spend their time and energy critiquing the Church is beyond me. Jesus didn’t teach us to pray for the Lord of the harvest to send forth critics. He taught us to pray that the Lord would send forth laborers. The Church needs fewer critics and more laborers. While the critics sit on the sidelines practicing their trade, it’s the committed laborers who get the job done.

It is no secret that Satan hates the Church and is opposed to its very existence. In stirring up a chorus of criticism, the enemy seeks to diminish in the minds of believers the importance of the Church. If Satan can succeed there, he can draw disillusioned Christians away from the safety of the flock into a spiritual no-man’s land. As a result, the Church is weakened, it’s effectiveness in ministry is lessened, and churchless believers are made vulnerable.

Avoid Christians who are given to launching verbal assaults on the Bride of Christ! To verbally beat up Christ’s Bride is not a godly thing to do. Associate with believers who understand that in spite of her imperfections, Jesus loves the Church. He really, really loves the Church! Jesus loves the Church so much that He gave Himself for it, lives to build it, and is returning to receive it unto Himself.Pastor Todd Weston

Here is a four-step experiment for you to try sometime that will be fun and easy.

Step #1 – go to the beach (I told you this was going to be fun!)

Step #2 – go out about fifty yards into the water and get on one of those inflatable lounge floats people normally use in swimming pools.

Step #3 – fix your position with an object on the beach, then close your eyes and relax for about thirty-minutes (be sure to apply plenty of sunblock).

Step #4 – after about a half-hour of floating, open your eyes and try to figure out where in the world you are!

The danger of drifting is that it isn’t limited to the physical realm. We can drift spiritually too. That’s why the Hebrew writer issued this warning, “It’s crucial that we keep a firm grip on what we’ve heard so that we don’t drift off” (Hebrews 2:1, The Message).

Here are some facts we should know about drifting:

Drifting requires no effort – just do nothing and the process of drifting will begin.

Drifting is an unconscious process – you’re not even aware that it’s happening.

Drifting happens quietly and gradually – no big fanfare, but deadly all the same.

You never drift upstream or against the tide – you go where the current takes you.

The speed downstream increases – the farther you drift, the faster you drift.

Common signs of drifting spiritually include:

Diminished desire for God – we stop praying, reading the Bible, and worshiping.

Diminished desire to be with God’s people – church attendance becomes low priority.

Diminished desire to serve in ministry – we bail out.

Increased desire for worldly things – we trade the spiritual for the carnal.

So, are you drifting? I ask you to consider the question because drifting is serious business. As D.A. Carson wrote in Christianity Today, “People do not drift toward holiness. Apart from grace-driven effort, people do not gravitate toward godliness, prayer, obedience to the Scripture, faith, and delight in the Lord. We drift toward compromise and call it tolerance; we drift toward disobedience and call it freedom; we drift toward superstition and call it faith. We cherish the indiscipline of lost self-control and call it relaxation; we slouch toward prayerlessness and delude ourselves into thinking we have escaped legalism; we slide toward godlessness and convince ourselves we have been liberated.”

There is one remedy against drifting and only one – just keep rowing! It works every time. To keep from drifting, intentionally pursue God. Stay focused and committed. Keep doing the right things and rather than drifting off into spiritual oblivion, you will arrive at the right destination.

This past Sunday night some sixty members of the RLA family took a missions trip to six different countries without even leaving SW Florida. How did they accomplish that? They did it by participating in the Rosemary Outreach.In spite of the threat of inclement weather, God blessed us with a beautiful evening. Ninety-eight guests from the Rosemary neighborhood came out in response to the invitations created by Julie Lawrence and delivered door-to-door by Tony and Laura Delacruz and their saturation team. Our guests were greeted warmly by Fred and Diane Schwarz and their people team, and enjoyed the hot dogs prepared by Juan and Sandra Herrera and their food team. A special “thank you” to Jamie Mastin who baked six cakes – enough to feed 144 people!

Our friends from Rosemary participated in face-painting, fingernail painting, crafts, and jump-rope provided by Susan Stauffer’s activities team. Everyone was blessed by an energetic worship service led by Paul David Weston and his Legacy team.Lynda Van Bibber’s security team kept diligent watch over the property while Sue Anderson’s prayer team was busy interceding at the throne of grace.

The team led by Nicholas Weston made sure everything needed for the event was transported to the property, set up, taken down, and delivered back to the church.And the entire event was made possible by Bob and Ellen Nichols and the leadership of New Horizons Ministries making their building available to us.As you can see, the Rosemary Outreach was a team event! Even the message delivered by our special guest, Dean Niforatos, involved five volunteers from the audience. Like the Corinthians, we partnered together with each other and with Christ Himself (2 Corinthians 6:1). It’s amazing what the Church of Jesus Christ can do when we come together. We can make a difference. We can touch an entire community.Our first Rosemary Outreach was a success for the kingdom. If you will excuse me, I must go now to a planning meeting for the next Rosemary event just four weeks away. Good things are happening at RLA!Pastor Todd Weston

Time is life – nothing more, nothing less. How we spend our hours and days is the way we spend our lives. So, how are you spending your hours and days?When approached with an opportunity for ministry, many Christians turn down the invitation with the worn out excuse, “I don’t have time.” The truth is – we all have the time. Every person on the planet has 24 hours in a day and 7 days in a week. The question is how we choose to spend it.To make wise use of our time requires the 3 D’s –

DecisionI can never put the important things first until I know what they are. I must decide what matters most. I must prayerfully land on the non-negotiable priorities of life. Otherwise, my time will be drained away by the urgent rather than the important.

DiscernmentOnce I have decided on my life priorities, I must then discern what activities and opportunities to say “yes” to and which ones to say “no” based on those priorities.

Discipline Having decided on my priorities, and having discerned the appropriate activities based on those priorities, I then need the discipline to live it out.

As believers, our priorities should be based on the Word of God. That goes without question. If the Bible says something is important, then we should embrace it as a priority of life. We should then sacrifice lesser things for the things that really count.

The day is coming when we are all going to stand before the Lord and give an account for how we used our minutes, hours, and days. Did we use our time wisely or foolishly? Did we fill our calendars with lesser things or with better things? In short, did we do as Paul told the Ephesian believers? Did we redeem our time and spend it according to God’s will? (Eph. 5:16-17)A sign over a college classroom clock gave this constant reminder to the students. It read, “Time will pass; will you?” Don’t be guilty of giving your time to everything else in life with nothing left for Jesus, His church, and His cause. A million excuses at the Judgment Seat of Christ will never make it right.

Instead, spend your time in such a way that when you stand before Him on Judgment Day you will receive a passing grade.Pastor Todd Weston